The present invention concerns a laser, particularly a CO.sub.2 gas transport laser with several discharge tube sections attached in mounts and accommodating the flow of laser gas.
Under this main concept, reference is made to the state of the art known, e.g., from German DE-OS No. 27 41 737. In this known laser, the discharge tube sections are connected over the mount in such a manner that the tube sections provide a nonfolded discharge tube, at the beginning and end of which laser mirrors are provided. The supply lines for the laser gas as well as the discharge lines for the laser gas are located beside the mounts and are, accordingly, led past the mounts and the discharge tube sections. This causes a complicated structure of the laser, particularly when there are more than two discharge tube sections and a corresponding number of mounts.
Investigations and research concerning CO.sub.2 gas transport layers have led to the recognition that an increase of the laser performance can be achieved if several short, optimum discharge tube sections are coupled in series, whereby each discharge tube section has its separate power and gas supply or gas discharge. An arrangement of this type can also be advantageously used for pulsation of laser beams. For instance, if four discharge tube sections of this type would be correspondingly coupled in series in the five required mounts, thus in a sense, four laser modules after one another, a laser effect of more than 1 KW can be obtained with the corresponding dimensions and design of the laser tubes and with sufficient gas supply, with a total discharge tube length (discharge tube sections) of approximately 1 m.
On the basis of the initially mentioned state of the art, a laser design would emerge where, although the total length can be relatively short, the volume will be large, considering the gas supply and gas discharge lines that are to be provided. As a result, the total laser become unwieldy and, in particular, it cannot be assembled without problems as a mobile processing tool on a guide machine, e.g., for cutting of materials.